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I 



HOF. WILLIAM M. STEWART, 

OF NEVADA, 



INDORSING THE PRESIDENT'S POLICY ON RESTORATION: 



DELIVERED 



IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, DECEMBER 21, 1865. 



WASHINGTON: 

PRINTED AT THE CONGRESSIONAL GLOBE OFFICE. 
1865. 



SPEECH. 



The Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, re- 
'umed the consideration of the bill (S. No. 9) to main- 
tiiin the freedom of the inhabitants of the States 
declared in insurrection and rebellion by the procla- 
mation of the President of the 1st of July, 1862, the 
question pending being on Mr. Cowan's motion to 
refer the bill to the Committee on the Judiciary. 

Mr. STEWART said: 

Mr. President: Sentiments having been 
announced on the motion to refer this bill 
which I cannot indorse, I am compelled ]fy 
a sense of duty to make a few observations. 
I ask tlie indulgence of the Senate in digress- 
ing from the real question at issue for the pup- 
])Ose of entering my protest against the attack 
made by the honorable Senator from Massa- 
chusetts [Mr. SuMNEu] upon the message of 
the President and the report of the Lieu- 
tenant General, and to condemn the kind of 
testimony used in support of that attack. But 
before I enter into a discussion of this evi- 
dence, I desii'e to make a few remarks upon 
llie great questions which have become in- 
volved in this debate. Sir, if the Senator from 
Massachusetts is right, and the evidence ad- 
iluced by him establishes that the great mass 
• fthc people.of the South are capable of the 
atrocities imputed to them by the anonymous 
witnesses paraded before this Senate, then a 
miion of these States is impossible, then hun- 
dreds of thousands of the bravest and best of 
niir )and have fallen to no purpose, then every 
house from the Gulf to the lakes is draped in 
niinirning without an object, then three thou- 
sand millions of indebtedness hangs like a pall 
upon the pride and prosperity of the people 



only to admonish us that the war was wicked, 
useless, and cruel. But we are told that al- 
though we cannot have union, although we can- 
not extend the blessings of the Constitution to 
seven millions of our fellow-citizens who reside 
in the late rebel States, yet we have conquest 
and territorial dominion which we should per- 
petuate regardless of ourselves and our poster- 
ity. Senators complain of the growing power 
of the Executive, and at the same time seek 
through him to govern near half the territory of 
the United States by the military, which all 
must see will make it the overshadowing power 
in the land. 

Mr. President, have conquest and dominion 
been the mottoes under which millions of tho 
loyal men of the United States have rallied 
round the flag of their country? On the con- 
trary, have not union, freedom, and equality 
before the law been the words of inspiration to 
the soldier, who poured out his blood as water, 
and to the nation, which expended its treasure 
as dross? Now that these sacrifices have been 
made and the victory won, are we not bound 
by every obligation which reverence for the 
dead, regard for the living, and fear of God can 
inspire, to preserve, not destroy, the Constitu- 
tion and Union of these States ? Thus far there 
are two plans presented to the country for the 
reorganization of the South. The one which 
finds favor in Congress — if we were to judge » 
of the sentiment of that body from those who 
talk most — is to govern eleven States as con- 
quered provinces by an exercise of power un- 
warranted by the Constitution, v/hich raustinev- 



itably derange, if not destroy, that charter of 
our liberties. This plan trusts all to force, noth- 
ing to conciliation ; all to revenge, nothing to 
charity. It treats with equal contempt the good 
opinion or hati-ed of seven millions of American 
citizens. It disregards the example of Ireland, 
where the oppression of Great Britain has pro- 
duced millions of enemies, breathing vengeance 
from every part of the civilized world, before 
whom crowned heads now tremble. The vast 
armies which devour the substance of Europe 
and oppressandburdenthe downtrodden masses 
with ruinous taxation to hold subjugated prov- 
inces subser\nent to despotic will, have no warn- 
ing for the advocates of this scheme. But what is 
the evidence used to induce the Senate to believe 
that the exercise of this despotic^ power is ne- 
cessary ? In judging of testimony upon ordinary 
'subjects we take into consideration not only the 
facts stated, but the character and standing of 
the witness, his means of information, and last, 
but not least, his appearance ujion the stand. 

In this great cause the Senate projierly called 
upon the chief Executive of the nation for in- 
formation. Was he a witness whose character 
and standing before the country would entitle 
his testimony to consideration? Let the voice 
of a great people who have indorsed his patriot- 
ism and his administration answer. Were his 
means of information such as to entitle him to 
speak advisedly upon this subject? Let the ma- 
chinery of Government, that collects facts from 
every dejiartment, civil and military, upon the 
table of the Executive, answer. Was not his 
appearance before the public in communicating 
this testimony to the Senate and the country 
such as to remove all grounds of suspicion? 
Let the exalted tone, bold and fearless state- 
ment, pure and patriotic spirit of both his mes- 
sages be his best vindication. In the first he 
says: 

"I found the States suffering from the effects of a 
civil war. Resistance to the General Government 
appeared to have exhausted itself. The United States 
had recovered possession of their forts .and arsenals; 
and their armies were in the occupation of every 
State which had attempted to secede. Whetlier the 
territory within the limits of those States .should bo 
held as conquered territory, under military authority, 
emanating from the President as the head of the 
Army, was the first question that presented itself for 
decision. 

"Now, military governments, established for an 
indefinite period, would have offered no security for 
the early suppression of discontent; would have di- 
vided the people into the vanquishers and the van- 
quished; and would have envenomed hatred rather 



than have restored affection. Once established, no 
precise limit to their continuance was conceivable. 
They would have occasioned an incalculable and 
exhausting expense. Peaceful emigration toandfrom 
that portion of the country is one of the best means 
that can be thought of for the restoration of har- 
mony; and that emigration would have been pre- 
vented ; for what emigrant from abroad, wliat indus- 
trious citizen at home, would place himself willingly 
under military rule? The chief persons who would 
have followed in the train of the Army would have 
been dependents on the General Government, or men 
who expected profit from the miseries of their erring 
fellow-citizens. The powers of patronage and rule 
which would have been exercised, under the Presi- 
dent, over a vast and populous and naturally wealthy 
region, are greater than, unless under extreme neces- 
sity, I should be willing to intrust to any one man ; 
they are such as, for myself, 1 could never, unless on 
occasions of great emergency, consent to exercise. 
The willful use of such powers, if continued through 
a period of years, would have endangered the purity 
of the general administration and the liberties of the 
States which remained loyal." 

How plainly he here states the dangers of the 
plans proposed by those who would reduce the 
South to conquered provinces, and hold them 
under military rule, subjugated and degraded 
Territories, denied all the rights and privileges 
of the Constitution and the Union. How mod- 
estly and patriotically he declines to assume 
such enormous responsibilities. Does not the 
passage just read place him before the world a 
disinterested and competent witness upon these 
great questions? 

He continues : 

" Besides, the policy of military rule over a con- 
quered territory would have implied that the States 
whose inhabitants may have taken part in the rebel- 
lion had, by the act of those inhabitants, ceased to 
exist. But the true theory is, that all pretended acts 
of secession were, from the beginning, null and void. 
The States canijot commit treason, nor screen the in- 
dividual citizens who may have committed treason, 
any more than they can make valid treaties or en- 
gage in lawful commerce with any foreign Power. 
The States attempting to secede placed themselves in 
a condition where their vitality was impaired, butnot 
extinguished; their functions suspended, but not de- 
stroyed. 

" But if any State neglects or refuses to perform its 
ofiices there is the more need that the General Gov- 
ernment should maintain all its authority, and as soon 
as practicable resume the exercise of all its functions. 
On this principle I have acted, and have gradually 
and quietly, and by almost imperceptible steps, sought 
to restore tiie rightful energy of the General Govern- 
ment and of the States. To that end, provisional 
governors have been appointed for the States, con- 
ventions called, Governors elected. Legislatures as- 
sembled, and Senators and Representatives chosen to 
the Congress of the United States. At the same time 
the courts of the United States, as far as could be done, 
have been reopened, so that the laws of the United 
States may be enforced through their agency. The 
blockade has been removed, and the custom-houses 
reestablished in ports of entry, so that the revenue of 
the United States may be collected. The Post Office 
Department renews its ceaseless activity, and the Gen- 
eral Government is thereby enabled to communicate 
promptly with its oificers and agents. The courtsbring 
security to persons and property; the opening of the 
ports in vites the restoration of industry and commerce ; 
the post office renews the facilities of social intercourse 
and of business. And is it not happy for us all, that 
the restoration of each one of these functions of the 



General Government brings with it a blessing to the 
States dvcr which they oxtendeil? Is it not a sure 
promise of harmony and renewed attachment to the 
Union that, alter all that has happened, the return of 
the General Government is known only as a benefi- 
cence?" 

There again he maintains a perfect consist- 
ency with the theory of this war, that it was 
prosecuted for the preservation of the Un!on, 
not for its destruction, or the annihilation of 
its component parts. But he frankly admits 
the difficulties which all have felt and which all 
still feel. He says : 

" I know very well that this policy is attended with 
some risk; that for its success it requires at least the 
acquiescence of the States which it concerns; that it 
implies an invitation to those States, by renewing 
their allegiance to the United States, to resume their 
functions a? States of the Union. But it is a risk that 
must be taken; in the choice of difficulties, it is the 
smallest risk; and to diminish, and, if possible, to re- 
move all danger, I have felt it incumbent on me to 
assert one other power of the General Government — 
the power of pardon. As no State can throw a de- 
fense over the crime of treason, the power of pardon 
is exclusively vested in the executive government of 
the United States. In exercising that power, I have 
taken every precaution to connect it with the clear- 
est recognition of the binding force of the laws of the 
United States, and an unqualified acknowledgment 
of the great social change of condition in regard to 
slavery which has grown out of the war." 

Upon the subject of the amendment of the 
Constitution abolishing slavery, the President 
uses the following language : 

"The next step which I have taken to restore the 
constitutional relations of the States has been an in- 
vitation to them to participate in the high office of 
amemling the Constitution. Every patriot must wish 
for a general amnesty at the earliest epoch consistent 
with the public safety. For this great end there is 
need of a concurrence of all opinions, and the sisirit 
of mutual conciliation. All ptlrties in the late terri- 
ble eontiiot must work together in harmony. It is not 
too much to ask, in the name of the whole people, 
that, on the one side, the plan of restoration shall 
proceed in conformity with a willingness to cast the 
disonlers of the past into oblivion ; and that, on the 
other, the evidence of sincerity in the future mainte- 
nance of the Union shall be put beyond any doubt by 
the ratilieation of the proposed amendment to the 
Constitution, whfch provides for the abolition of sla- 
^rery forever within the limits of ouj- country. So long 
as the adoption of this amendment is delayed, so long 
will doubt and jealousy and uncertainty prevail. 
This is the measure which will cfi'aco the sad mem- 
ory of the past; this is the measure which will most 
certainly call population and capital and security to 
those parts of the Union that need them most. In- 
deed, it is not too much to ask of the States which are 
now resuming their places in the family of the Union 
to give this pledge of perpetual loyalty and peace. 
Until it is done, the past, however much we may 
desire it, will not be forgotten. The adoption of the 
amendment reunites us beyond all power of disrup- 
tion. It heals the wound thatisstillimperfectly closed; 
it removes slavery, the element which has so long per- 
plexed and divided the country; it makes of us once 
more a united people, renewed and strengthened, 
bound more than ever to mutual afl'ection and sup- 
port. 

"The amendment to the Constitution being adopt- 
ed, it would remain for the States, whoso powers hayc 
been so long in abeyance, to resume their places in 
the two branches of the national Legislature, and 
thereby complete the work of restoration. Here it 
is for you, fellow-citizens of the Senate, and jor you, 



fellow-citizens of the House of Representatives, to 
judge, each of you for yourselves, of the elections, 
returns, and qualifications of your own members." 

This amendment the Secretary of State, as 
provided by law, has proclaimed to the world 
is now a part of the Constitution, and that, too, 
by the concurrence of several of the lately re- 
bellious States, eight of those States being re- 
quired to constitute the requisite niajc^rity. By 
this proclamation the honorable Secretary, 
whose age, learning, and eminent public ser- 
vices command respect both at home and abroad, 
has unmistakably pronounced his solemn opin- 
ion that North and South Carolina, Georgia, 
Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, and 
Virginia are States in the Union. But suppose 
he is wrong, and they are not States in the 
Union, no one doubts the power of Congress 
to make them such by recognizing them as 
States ; and in either event we have this con- 
stitutional amendment the supreme law of the 
land. By it four million slaves are set' free, 
and slavery forever made impossible within the 
limits of the United States. But what makes this 
constitutional amendment a practical, living 
thing, is the power given to Congress to enforce 
it by appropriate legislation. It is to be hoped 
the exercise of this power will be rendered un- 
necessary by the conduct of the States con- 
cerned. 

The simple fact that we possess the power 
must have a salutary effect in constraining the 
local authorities to accord the freedman his 
natural rights. For the purpose of asserting this 
power a bill is already before the Judiciary 
Committee authorizing the President to con- 
tinue the Freedmen's Bureau in an effective 
form so long as abuses may exist in any of the 
States, and to withdraw the same whenever 
the good order of society and the safety of 
the freedmen no longer require its protection, 
and again to reinstate it whenever new abuses 
shall arise requiring the exercise of its power. 
Through this constitutional agency the General 
Government may redeem its solemn pledge of 
emancipation, so far as to confer upon all men, 
without regard to color, perfect equality before 
the law. May not the freedmen be as well pro- 
tected, if this view of the constitutional amend- 
meiit be correct, by the strong arm' of the Gov- 
ernment while we recognize no State as having 
been cmt of the Unioft, as by that other theory 



6 



of State destruction and territorial subjec- 
tion ? 

In the one case military power may or may 
not be used, depending upon the good faith 
and fair dealing of the States themselves, which 
every principle of interest and humanity must 
induce them to exercise toward their emanci- 
j)ated slaves. But in the other case, military 
power is the only remedy proposed ; no oppor- 
tunity to do voluntary justice is offered, but 
a conclusive presumption of guilt is indulged 
upon evidence of unknown letter- writers. What 
more do gentlemen want than a submission to 
the laws and a , willingness to return to the 
Union ? 

Gentlemen say they wish security for the 
future. What security can we have that they 
will obey the laws more than the assurance of 
the chief Executive and the Lieutenant Gen- 
eral that order and civil authority are being 
rapidly restored? What stronger proof can we 
have of their repudiation of secession than the 
fact that their Senators and Representatives 
are now knocking for admission into the Halls 
of Congress? What stronger guarantee of the 
effectual abolition of slavery and the restora- 
tion to civil rights of the freedmen can be given 
than the pledge recorded in the supreme law of 
the land proclaiming their liberty, and author- 
izing Congress to provide for its maintenance? 
For, whatever course may be pursued, it must 
for years be the effective power of Congress, 
cooperating with the Executive, that will pro- 
tect the freedmen from oppression ; and while 
Congress retains this power no necessity exists 
for treating the late rebel States as conquered 
provinces. But it maj be, and from the extraor- 
dinary course of this debate it would seem, 
that something more is contemplated than the 
restoration of the Union, the punishment of 
treason, the abolition of slavery, and the pro- 
tection of the freedmen. If this were all, it 
could be accomplished during the present ses- 
sion of Congress by a cordial cooperation of 
the various departments of Government. I for 
one am content with this. I am anxious at 
once to secure the benefits of our glorious vic- 
tory. I am anxious to restore the Union and 
the Constitution, and to repudiate slavery and 
secession. These are greater reforms than any 
other age has produced^ this is more progress 



than has been achieved since the formation of 
our Government. I am anxious to secure this 
before we attempt more. 

But another step is proposed, an advanced 
position is assumed before those already taken 
are secured, and that is a proposition for uni- 
versal suffrage without regard to color, to be 
enforced by the central Government without 
regard to law. Whether this be a white man's 
Government or not is not the real question be- 
fore the country ; but the true question is, shall 
the General Government interfere with the righ- 
of suffrage in the States ? When this is attempted 
we are not only met by the prejudices, whether 
just or unjust, of a large majority of the white 
inhabitants of the United States, but by the con- 
scientious opinions of the chief Executive of 
the nation, sustained by many of the wisest and 
best statesmen and jurists of the country, that 
the Constitution has placed the question of suf- 
frage exclusively within State jurisdiction. I 
do not propose to argue at length either the pre- 
judices of the former or the constitutional ob- 
jections of the latter." But^we must remember 
that prejudice is often morB powerful than rea- 
son, and that it often happens that prejudice 
itself is founded in reason. If this is not a 
white man's Government, one thing is certaii', 
that neither the black man or the red man has 
ever reared such a Government. It must also be 
remembered that this Government is still re- 
garded by other nations as an experiment, and 
its failure is confidently predicted for the reason 
that history furnishes no adequate proof of the 
capacity of man for self-government. They are 
not so much mistaken in their general reading 
as in the facts which lie at the foundation of our 
institutions. They forget that we are a race de- 
scended from the original Anglo-Saxon stock, 
and that our ancestors learned the lessons of 
libei'ty through generations of martyrdom, and 
have practiced those lessons for three hundred 
years in this distant land comparatively free from 
the degrading influences of arbitrary power: 
that superior natural endowments, universal 
education, and a vast and 2:>roductive countiy 
have enabled us, alone, among all the nations 
of the earth, to sustain free government. 

It may not be unjust for a people, whose lib- 
erties can only be sustained by intelligence and 
virtue, to pause and hesitate before they in- 



/trust those liberties in the hands of four mil- 
lions of unfortunate persons just emerged from 
the .most degrading slavery before they shall 
have had an opportunity to learn the principles 
of that Government whose functions they are 
Called upon to administer. 

This prejudice is not necessarily selfish or 
cruel, but it may arise from an honest desire 
for the preservation- of our own liberties and 
the liberties of the race which the war has made 
free. However this may be, the fact still ex- 
ists, that few States in the North have yet 
granted the right of suffrage in any form to the 
colored men within their borders, although 
those colored men are often educated, fre- 
quently more enlightened than some white men 
among whom they reside. And while the States 
we represent deem it inexpedient to confer the 
right of suffrage upon the colored men within 
their borders, are we justified as their repi'e- 
sentatives in compelling the late rebellious 
States to confer that right upon the mass of un- 
fortunate blacks who have yet to learn the first 
principles of their duties and responsibilities as 
citizens? But this is not all. If we are dis- 
posed to disregard the sentiments of our con- 
stituents and the action of our State govern- 
ments, shall we trample upon the constitu- 
tional right of the States to regulate the question 
of suffrage, without first amending the Consti- 
* tution as provided in that instrument ? This is 
dangerous ground and a fearful resjaonsibility. 
There is no question of necessity to justify it. 
The Union can be restored without it. The 
freedmen can be protected without it. The 
honor of the nation can be vindicated without 
it. But in attempting it, all hiay be lost, and 
we may have despotism and anarchy, or rather 
anarchy and then despotism, in the place of 
our once glorious and prosperous Union. But 
before I conclude, let me once again refer to 
the testimony of the President and the Lieu- 
tenant General to the bright prospect that is 
before us. The former says : 

i '"From all the information in my possession, and 
from that whichlhaverecentlyderivellfromthemost 
reliable authority, I am induced to cherish the belief 
that sectional animosity is surely and rapidly merg- 
ing itself into a spirit of nationality, and that repre- 
sentation, '.onnectedwith a properly-fidjusted system 
of taxation, will result in a harmonious restoration 
of the relation of the States to the national Union." 

General Grant, whose means of information 
are second to none, except perhaps the Presi- 
dent, being in immediate communication with 
the military authorities throughout the South, 
says: 

"My observations lead me to the conclusion that 



the citizens of the southern States are anxious to re- 
turn to self-government within the Union as soon as 
possible; that while reconstructing, they want and 
require protection from the Government; that they 
are in earnest in wishing to do what they think is 
required by the (Jovernment— no t humiliating to them 
as citizens— and thatif such acourse was pointed out, 
they would pursue it in good faith. It is to be regret- 
ted that there cannot be a greater commingling at 
this time between the citizens of the two sections, and 
particularly of tliose intrusted with the law-making 
power." 

Against this we have statements, extracted 
from letters written by persons unknown to the 
country or to the Senate. We have no means of 
judging of their character for truth and veracity, 
or what information they really possess, and 
above all of what motives induced them to 
write. 

We are not surprised at these stories, whether 
true or false. Wq expected, in the present 
disorganized condition of society, that crimes 
would be committed in the South. We know 
that crimes are tommitted, and men talk non- 
sense and folly in all countries. Even in the 
great Commonwealth of MassacTiusetts, with all 
her public virtues — and they are many — there 
are records of crime and misery. And it would 
have been strange if in the, South, with all the 
mad passions of the people excited by this ter- 
rible civil war, no scenes of horror should have 
been witnessed since the fall of the rebellion. 
But it is said in some of the letter extracts read 
to the Senate that men in the South threaten 
to fight us through the ballot-box. Do we object 
to that? Are we not willing to submit allques- 
■tions to the voice of the people? Are we not 
willing to be governed by the majority? Did 
we not fight them with the sword jjecause they 
repudiated the decision of a constitutional 
majority? Are we willing to prolong the res- 
toration of the Union and risk the experiment 
of taxation without representation fox fear that 
the application of the rule, that the voice of the 
majority is law, shall drive us from power? 
Shall we not rather Seek the perpetuation of 
the Union party by the accomplishment of the 
objects for which it was organized? Nothing 
but our own folly can deprive us of the rewards 
due to the services which that organization has 
rendered to the country and to the cause of lib- 
erty and humanity. The preservation of the 
Union, the repudiation of secession, and the 
abolition of slavery, the parent of seces- 
sion, are great deeds ; and the party that has 
achieved them, so long as it adheres to the 
princiisles it has vindicated, will be remem- 
bered and sustained by a generous and patri- 
otic people. 



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